Russian banks are blocking more accounts under 115-FZ and 161-FZ after September 1

Russian banks have stepped up account freezes and payment blocks under 115-FZ and 161-FZ, and the number of blocked accounts has reportedly risen several times since September 1. For high-risk payment teams, the useful part here is not the outrage on social media but the mechanism: banks are tightening anti-fraud controls, and ordinary transfers are getting caught in the net.

1. According to the cases reviewed, one taxi driver received a 161-FZ block after passengers paid by transfer for a 646 ruble ride, then filed a complaint to reverse the payment. The driver says he submitted a request to the Central Bank, was refused, then filed a second one with screenshots from the taxi app and is now waiting for review.
2. Another case involved a Moscow resident who paid in stores with a Yandex Bank card and then received a 115-FZ request for explanations. The bank sent a 23-page document listing more than 400 operations that needed clarification; 98% of them were interest from “Kopilka” and automatic rounding after purchases, meaning the activity was generated by Yandex Bank’s own functions. Transfers were limited to small amounts sent to his wife and mother.
3. A third person had a card blocked under 161-FZ after receiving money for a service. Even with evidence that the transfer was voluntary on the sender’s side — a chat screenshot and transaction receipt — the block was not lifted immediately. The described process requires going to one’s own bank, filing a request to return the money to the sender’s bank, and then waiting at least 15 days plus another 15 days for a Central Bank response.
4. The practical effect, as described, is at least a month without normal banking access: no new banking products, no regular debit card from any bank, and no easy way to continue day-to-day payments. The source also notes a structural blind spot: the person who initiates the complaint or reverses the payment does not appear to face consequences, while the blocked customer absorbs the operational damage.

For PSPs and risk teams serving high-risk verticals, the takeaway is blunt: Russian banks are evidently using transfer monitoring more aggressively, and the same controls that can catch fraud also generate broad false positives. If your flow depends on card-to-card transfers, merchant-funded payouts, or customer complaints triggering reviews, this is the sort of regime where ordinary payment behavior can be treated as a risk event first and a customer-service issue second.